A PARTIALLY sighted woman in her 80s living in Malmesbury was conned into letting two men into her house after they pretended to be from a gas company.

The 84 year-old, who lives near the town centre, let in two men who had knocked on her door on Tuesday evening at 6pm. They said that they had to do emergency repairs to her gas supply.

On entering the house, one man stayed with the woman while the other searched through the rooms.

After the search, the men demanded £15 for the repair work they said they had completed and claimed she would be reimbursed in the future. The woman gave them a £10 note and the two men left.

Sergeant Kier Pritchard of Malmesbury Police said: "The lady was shocked and shaken by the deception burglary. She acted very quickly and phoned the police as soon as she found out she had been deceived."

One of the men was in his 20s, about 5ft 8ins tall, of medium build and had close cropped hair that was thinning or bald on top. The other was in his 30s had a heavy build and short fair hair.

This week residents in the town received a two-page leaflet issued by the police warning people of recent distraction burglaries in the area. It recommends that people who are concerned should call the relevant utility to be given a special password. Sgt Pritchard said: "A legitimate caller will be happy to remain outside and wait while that identification is checked."